Chapter 2

The High Seas

19:15
Thursday

A deep, mechanical churning noise reverberated through the bowels of the ship, alerting Stacy to the fact that the engines had finally started. She allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief, but stayed on alert. They were far from home free. Crammed into a dark, dingy corner between two containers, Stacy and her unfortunate companion were getting far too well acquainted for her liking, but they couldn't afford to move. Stowing away had been far more difficult than she'd anticipated for a ship this size, and even now, patrolling security guards passed by every half an hour or so, shining flashlights into almost every corner of the dim cargo hold.

Down in the underbelly of the Royal Unova, she felt every roll and wave as the enormous cruise liner pulled out of Slateport Harbour. It would be moving only slowly, she knew, painstakingly extricating itself from the docks and turning to face the open sea, but every minor disturbance seemed to be multiplied down here. It didn't particularly bother her, but her partner in crime was a different story.

"Staaaace . . ." the other girl moaned quietly, wedged into the tiny space beneath Stacy. "I'on't feel s'good . . ."

Closing her eyes, Stacy took a deep breath, then exhaled sharply and turned – as best she could in the cramped confines – to glare at her travelling companion. "I swear to Arceus, Roisin, if you throw up on my jeans I will end you," she hissed.

Roisin gulped, her face almost as green as her vibrantly dyed hair. She had a hand clamped over her mouth and spoke through gritted teeth, as if she could prevent herself from vomiting that way. "'m tryinggg," she grumbled, her voice thick with consternation. "You know I – ulp – how I am with boats, Stace!"

"Drink some water," Stacy relented, awkwardly digging a canteen out of her backpack and passing it over. "Not too much, though. We have to last four days on this bucket."

That reminder didn't seem to help Roisin much, but she gratefully sipped at the water. "Four days?" she groaned. "Remind me again why I let you talk me into this?"

Stacy rolled her eyes. "Because you love me so much. Now shush. Don't think about it. Just think about how much fun we'll be able to have when we reach Unova!"

Closing her eyes and blocking out Roisin's weak protests, Stacy settled back against the corrugated iron crate, feeling the unyielding material poke into her back. It was going to be a long cruise.

Ren was exhausted. After his rapid defeat of Karl at the arena, he had been practically mobbed by curious passengers and staff. Technically, he supposed this was his first public appearance since losing his title at the Ever Grande Conference. Still, he hadn't expected to be fussed over this much – if at all. A large number of the passengers on the Castelia-based liner were Unovans, he had learned, rich folks along for the ride as the Royal Unova made its maiden overseas voyage. Very few of them had come aboard in Slateport or any of the other stops the craft had made. He supposed it was a little too expensive for the average holidaymaker, though between careful saving, appearance fees and his monthly Champion stipend, he had been more than able to purchase two tickets for the one-way journey. He had more than enough left in his bank account to cover expenses over the weeks or months that lay ahead, but he wouldn't exactly be able to retire on it.

That meant he'd have to look into getting a job, he reflected bitterly as he sprawled on the bed in the cabin he shared with Karl. The other boy was out at the time, watching over his injured Pokémon at the onboard Pokémon Centre. Ren winced as he remembered how badly Sableye and Mightyena had been defeated. Zangoose had come a long way from attempting to tear its opponents to shreds in every battle, but it was still a powerful, highly-trained Pokémon. As much as he didn't really want to admit it, Karl hadn't stood a chance.

That would be a problem too, he mused. He knew Unova presented a new set of challenges simply by being an unfamiliar place, full of unfamiliar people and Pokémon, but he was under no illusions. His team of fully trained, Champion-grade Pokémon would make short work of almost any opponent below the Gym Leader level. Was that what he wanted?

No, he realised. It really wasn't. Winning was good, but winning all the time – and doing it easily – was no fun at all. Could he leave all of his Pokémon behind and start over? Maybe he should keep Zangoose with him. None of his Pokémon would be easy to part with, but abandoning Zangoose would be impossible. Solrock, Yanmega, Braviary, Manectric and Camerupt could be sent back to stay with his mother without too much hassle, though they wouldn't enjoy it. Could he really justify pushing them aside in order to catch and train new Pokémon?

Rolling over and burying his face in the sweetly scented pillow, Ren groaned. He had four days left on the Royal Unova. He could use that time to think it over and decide afterwards. Maybe even put it off until he'd checked in with the other half of his family in Lacunosa.

He glanced at the six Poké Balls sitting in a magnetic dock on his nightstand. As his partners, friends and long-time supporters, it was almost unthinkable to leave them behind. Then again, it had been almost unthinkable to up and leave for the Unova region in the first place. While he was at it, he might as well go all-in. In for a penny, in for a pound.

At some point, Karl re-entered the room and flopped down on the other bed. Ren was drifting off to sleep by that point, though, so he only vaguely registered his friend's presence. Dimly, a part of his mind hoped Karl hadn't taken his loss too personally. They had barely exchanged a word since the battle.

The following morning dawned early. Ren and Karl breakfasted at one of the seventeen on-board cafes, situated on the third level of the gallery overlooking the atrium. The mezzanine was largely empty thanks to the early hour, lending a strangely quiescent quality to the cavernous space.

"Yesterday was pretty rough," Karl said at length through a mouthful of croissant crumbs.

Ren looked up sharply. He hadn't expected his companion to broach the subject. "I'm sorry," he said, averting his eyes suddenly. "I didn't mean to . . . That must have been kind of embarrassing." Karl hadn't exactly been laughed off the field at the onboard arena, but he had been well and truly shown up.

"It's fine," Karl said, putting his fork down and running a hand through his floppy black hair. "I'm not worried about the battle itself. I knew you were better than me already, but . . . I dunno. Maybe I just expected to have caught up a bit, put up a bit more of a fight. I was thinking how . . . it's not really fair to tag along with you if I'm going to be so, well, useless."

"You're not useless, Karl," Ren said with a small sigh. "You're still trying to become a Gym Leader, right? You have to be pretty damn good to even think about that."

"Look, dude, that's a long way off. I'm still thinking about that, but I'm not a crazy wonder kid like you. And if you really want me to stick with you through your Unova journey, I'm just gonna slow you down!"

Ren sat back in his chair, glancing away for a moment as he gathered his thoughts. "I think I know how you feel. I think I'm the problem, though, not you." Briefly, Ren outlined the possibilities he had been considering the previous evening.

"You're nuts," Karl said flatly, his own concerns apparently forgotten as he blinked, dumbfounded. "Why would you do that? If I were you, I'd be happy to just steamroll the Unova Gyms and everybody in between. You have strong Pokémon, so use them!"

Ren rolled his eyes. "Okay, sure, but just consider for a second the fact that you're actually not me. I'll admit that I kind of started this journey on a whim as a way to get away from everything, but that doesn't mean I want to take the easy road. The five years I spent travelling around with my Pokémon before I won the Hoenn League were amazing, and I want that feeling back! I want to challenge myself, to use what I've learned in a new place."

"I still reckon you're a nutter, mate." Shaking his head, Karl polished off his croissant and regarded Ren with some confusion. "You have these super strong Pokémon, so use them! Sure, you could probably do fine without them, but why risk it?"

"Because I'll be bored out of my skull if I don't," Ren grumbled, finally admitting it to himself as well as Karl. "Look, forget it for now. I'm still deciding if I want to do this, but I'll have my mind made up by the time we reach Castelia."

"And till then?"

Grinning, Ren finished his eggs and stood up from the table. "Party time."

The next three days passed in a blur. Ren and Karl never returned to the Pokémon battle arena on the aft deck, but there were plenty of distractions without it. From the swimming pools on the top deck to the movie theatre in the lower levels, it was almost impossible to be bored. On Friday, Karl discovered the arcade near the prow and disappeared into it for several hours. Ren joined him for a while, but quickly grew bored of shooting zombies and failing miserably at rhythm games. Leaving his friend to it, Ren left to wander the many levels of the ship on his own.

Stacy jerked awake with the sudden feeling that something had gone horribly, terribly wrong. Light. Why was there light? They had been in the dark for over three days now, cramped and uncomfortable in the deepest recess of the cargo hold. Sleeping whenever they could manage to, she was starting to think she would never see daylight again. After the patrols had become irregular – and thus, unpredictable – on Friday, they hadn't even dared to stand up and stretch their legs, remaining curled up in the corner, tangled in each other's gangly limbs. Under different circumstances, it might have been quite pleasant, but after three days non-stop, Stacy was getting really sick of it.

So why were there suddenly bright lights shining in her face? Blinking back furious tears from her protesting eyes, Stacy looked up into the unimpressed face of a blue-suited security officer, who was shining a blisteringly white torch on the two of them. "What do we have here?" he sighed. "How did you two get on board?"

Stacy winced. "Don't suppose you could just pretend nothing ever happened?" she suggested, jabbing Roisin with her elbow. The green-haired girl woke with a grunt, blinking at the guard uncomprehendingly.

"Not likely," he said. "Up. You two are in serious trouble unless you can produce a ticket."

Stacy scrambled to her feet, muscles protesting at being unravelled so suddenly. She patted her pockets and rummaged through her bag, but naturally came up empty-handed. Shrugging apologetically, she said, "Umm . . . that'd be a no, I guess." Helping Roisin up, she regarded their captor cautiously. Could they take him out? No, their best bet would be to make a break for it – some time when he wasn't blocking their way, though.

"So come on, ladies. March." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, prodding them through the stacked containers. Stacy complied reluctantly, exchanging a cautious glance with Roisin as they were guided through the lower levels of the ship to what appeared to be an employees' break room. Locking the door behind them, the security guard sat the two down at a metal table. Drawing up a third chair, he sat opposite them with a heavy sigh.

"Can't a girl get a drink around here?" Stacy quipped, glancing at the coffee machine on the bench.

"Not until you've told me what you were doing in the cargo hold."

Stacy sighed, leaning back in her chair with a creak. "And I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said we got lost after being tragically separated from our incredibly rich parents."

"Not hardly. Start talking."

Stacy paused a moment, but decided honesty was probably her best policy here – even if seasoned with a few creative half-truths. "We ran away from home," she said. That much was true – even if only for one of them.

"So you stowed away on a ship bound for Unova. Where'd you get on? Slateport?" The guard seemed more curious than anything, Stacy realised. Still, she didn't fancy sticking around to let him hand them over to the police in Castelia.

"Yeah, Slateport. It just . . . seemed like a good idea at the time," she admitted with a not entirely affected grimace. "Get away from our families, start a new life in Unova."

"Well, at this rate your new life might be off to a rough start. Maybe even a stint in prison if you're unlucky," the guard said reproachfully. "Don't you know how dangerous it is to try and smuggle yourselves like that?"

"Seemed pretty safe to me," Stacy grumbled. "We were perfectly comfortable until you came along."

"I don't doubt that. What about your friend? Anything to say for yourself, miss?" He fixed his gaze on Roisin, who still looked vaguely ill. She only shook her head and kept her mouth zipped shut, much to the guard's annoyance. "Look," he said. "You're just kids, right? You're what, sixteen?"

"Seventeen," Stacy corrected him. "And I don't see what bei-"

He held up a finger to cut her off, a strange glint in his eye. "You're underage, which means you can't be tried as adults. I have to turn you in to the authorities – that's my job – so you'll still be responsible for financial reparations to the company, but I expect you'll otherwise be let off with a stern talking to. Maybe a fine."

Stacy felt a grin creep onto her face despite herself. "That doesn't sound so bad," she said, nodding slowly.

"Make no mistake, you're still in a lot of trouble. But believe me, I don't get my kicks out of ruining kids' lives. It's not as if we have a brig on board, so you'll stay here until we arrive in Castelia tomorrow afternoon. Understood?"

Stacy shrugged. "Could be worse." She glanced at Roisin, who nodded in agreement. "All right. We won't make a fuss. Now, how about that coffee?"

That same Sunday evening found Ren on one of the many sun decks, stretched out in his board shorts on a reclining deckchair. This area was one of the many reserved for passengers who wanted to relax with their Pokémon, so Ren had taken the opportunity to release Solrock from its Poké Ball. The enigmatic Pokémon – little more than a rocky orange disc with yellow spines and eyes – hovered at his side, humming blissfully as it absorbed the rich evening sunlight.

Ren sat up slowly, taking a sip from the fruity drink that sat behind his chair, and looked out to the west, shading his eyes and squinting in the way that Solrock always did. That same sun played across the tops of the gentle waves, sparkling peacefully across the blue expanse that stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. There was still heat in the sun, though it lay low in the sky; Ren felt it gently warming his face as he turned towards it. Far below, the ship's prow kicked up sprays of water as it blasted inexorably through the waves, ignoring the ocean's natural flow as it pressed forward to its destination. Up on Deck 12, however, the Royal Unova's trajectory seemed slow and tranquil.

Ren turned to his Pokémon, speaking in a quiet voice so as not to disturb the handful of other passengers who shared the deck. "Solrock. What would you think about staying at home with Mom for a while?"

Solrock turned almost imperceptibly towards him, humming in inquisitive alarm.

"Yeah, I know, I know," Ren said. "It's pretty sudden. But I've been thinking about sending you guys back to Slateport while I travel in Unova. What do you reckon?"

Solrock chimed thoughtfully, spinning slowly in midair as it contemplated the question. Ren didn't exactly expect a direct answer, but at least it didn't seem too perturbed by the concept.

"Hmm." Dropping the matter for the moment, Ren lay back on his deckchair. He wasn't much closer to reaching a decision than he had been at the start of the voyage, and Castelia drew ever nearer. Breathing deeply, Ren emptied his mind and watched the sun track its way towards the horizon.